Beer: Ratings & Reviews

Reviews by GCBrewingCo:

The beer poured a crystal clear golden color with a just barely off-shite frothy head that clung to the glass and then smeared itself all over the sides in Belgian Lace (well done).

The aroma was malty with a definite fruity hop presence. The aroma was very aromatic and almost spicy.

The flavor was malty with a substantial hop bitterness background that keeps the malt from become overpowering. The bitterness then dries the beer out leaving a nice hop flavor long into the finish.

The finish was dry with a nice hop flavor which lasts into the aftertaste and the dryness makes you want to take another swallow. The body was medium.

Highly drinkable beer that I was not expecting much out of an I was surprized by it's depth of character and flavors. I did not pay much for the sixer, but now I wish I had purchased many, many more. Well done.

More User Reviews:

3.88/5 rDev +9%look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

By far the best beer from this brewery I have had,pours a nice clear golden color with a a nice head that leaves a light lacing.Aroma has a vegitable quality to it wich I have picked up in other spring bocks as well with a light sweetness.Taste is mildy sweet and a little soapy (but not in a bad way if posible) with a very appetizing toasted malt flavor in a lingering finish.I really like this beer I dont like any of the other offerings from the brewery to much but this is a winner in my book.

The label says it all: a Steadman illustration of what looks like a demented hellhound coughing up former sheep. Anti-spring it is.

Pours out to yield three fingers of white head that leaves a sticky trail of lace down the glass, with the golden-orange color of the brew showing perfect clarity. Herbal hop and cake-batter aroma, aromatic yet clean to the nose. Thick medium body is creamy with a moderate carbonation that provides a slick smoothness. Certainly enough malt to go around, with biscuity and rustic bready flavors. Also plenty of hops to balance with a clean semi-sharp bitterness and a long-lingering herbal flavor. Some warmth from the alcohol is evident from middle to end--definitely more in the drying finish.

Not too shabby at all; a bit rough around the edges, but interesting to say the least. So why is this just a seasonal? Nothing beats a flavorful strong lager, any time of year. Definitely one of the best beers Flying Dog brews. Pair it up with a plate of sauerbraten (with extra red cabbage).

12 ounce bottle, no freshness dating. Allways enjoy the Ralph Steadman artwork on the Flying dog bottles. This one pours a dull, cloudy shade of apricot. Soft white head, with moderate retention, slight lacing. Nose is ripe plums, rum and some alcohol. Tasty little brew, I'm suprised by the middle of the road ratings for this brew, cuz, I'm finding it to be tasty, soft on the palate, nicely complex and warming for a spring seasonal. Notes of caramel, honey, rum, some lemony zing and a warm, dry finish. Nice spring/summer nightcap type of brew. Would also go well with some spicy meat type dishes.

Smells faintly caramel in it's malt with not much else coming through.

Starts off slightly malty and then just turns in to a big wad of buttery goo. Diacetyl coming out of the woodwork. Now don't get me wrong, I like a little butter with my ringwood, but this is disgusting. Finishes with a little hop for your butter sauce.

Clear gold color, head is frothy but slightly soapy and short-lasting. Decent laces, strings and small dots. Honeyish aroma, lightly floral. The main flavor impression for me is certainly malt-emphasized but with pastey and glue-like qualities, like the tang and lingering brightness of a bottle of Elmer's Glue-All. It doesn't finish well for me either, papery with an odd sense of undercooked bacon. All this makes it difficult to pick out hops nuances and better carbonation might have helped distract me. Of the reviews so far, obviously my impression differs -- and maybe its just me, but I don't like this beer at all...

I'm always weary of Flying Dog brews however their artwork kicks ass and I usually end up throwing a bottle of one of their beers into my sixpack holder...this is one of those beers...let's see what they can do with a hellesbock. Appears golden honey amber with a large off white head leaves fine even specks of lacing all around my glass. Aromatics bring mild toasted almond notes with fruity apple tartness and a bit of drizzled honey doused on there as well finishes with light herbal hops. Flavor has a doughy sweetness with more toasted nut and honey highlights among the clashing tart fruit apparent with more herbally hopped goodness. Mouthfeel is light to medium bodied with smooth crisp carbonation does coat the palate a bit if transitioning between brews grab a water. Drinkability...definitely a decent helles bock priced right at 1.99 can't complain I don't feel cheated however I'm still a huge Penn and Victory Mai/Helles bock fan over this version...still pretty good.

Appearance: A fizzy yellow without looking like a lite brew. Lots of bubbles floating up toward the top of the glass. The head goes toward 1/2" and then sinks down pretty fast. But as I drink the lacing's all over the place, which is surprising.

Smell: Lots of sweet malt, a bit of honey, slight vanilla. Other than that I get some bitter hops, but nothing really too balanced. I was hoping for more than this.

Taste: More sweet malt with some honey backing. The hops come in at the end to curb it all. It's not the most complex of brews, but I like it. I know they could be more adverturous, but it's going down well. And it's pretty balanced for what it's worth.

Mouthfeel: A bit astringent at first; then it becomes fairly full as soon as the carbonation kind of comes to.

Drinkability: Well, I have five more to drink, and I'm fine with that. Looking to pair the next ones with some food to see what happens.

yellow with creamy head, that leaves some lace on the rapid summer drink down. Smooth, light but not watery mouthfeel. An understated slightly aggressive bitterness,shy of acidic. Appropriate understated carbonation. One of the better Flying Dogs, just don't smell it.

Flying Dog's Heller Hound delivers a beautiful looking helles bock in a crystal-clear, deep golden body with an orange-ish cast beneath a full-sized head of frothy bright white foam. The head retention is quite good, and it leaves wide swatches of thin craggy lace throughout the glass. The nose is somewhat restrained as it should be, offering up a whiff of yeasty sulphur; a short bouquet of floral hops; and hints of the maltiness that lies within. It's fine-bubbled, moderate carbonation works well with its medium-leaning-towards-full body to lend a gentle zest on the tongue before it warms and becomes ever-so-slightly creamy and smooth across the palate. The flavor delivers a well-rounded and nicely-balanced combination of clean and straight-forward mildly-grainy-sweet malt with a solid bitterness; some delicately floral and spicy hops; and a splash of alcohol. It finishes dry with some short-lingering malt and spiciness on the tongue. As it warms, it rounds even further; and although it doesn't quite match the insatiable drinkability of the best German examples, this is a great take on the style and quite possibly one of Flying Dog's best beers!

Pours a crystal clear golden yellow, with a medium white head that retains ok...seems style appopriate. The aroma is nice and malty, with notes of grain husk, biscuit, honey, a hint of lemon, along with some floral hops and a touch of alcohol. The flavor is similar to the nose, with grain husk and biscuit malt notes, along with some honey sweetness, some citric tartness (mostly lemon), light floral hops and some alcohol. The mouthfeel is medium with moderate carbonation and drinkability is good but alcohol is more noticeable than id like. A descent maibock, but nothing exceptional

Very excited to see this on tap tonight at a Pizza Pub I frequent weekly. One of the best of the Flying Dog brand. Great head and lacing. Great taste of vanilla, banana, and clove. Excellent session beer for the summer. Had no problem downing two of these in a rather short period of time.

Golden yellow pour, with thin white head.
Smells yeasty and doughy, a little hoppiness.
Tastes very thick and yeasty, with a doughy, bready, dominant yeasty maltiness. The best way to describe this beer.
Mouthfeel is full bodied, but too much, should be easy drinking, but truly isn't.

A: clear amber with a 1 finger white head that disappears quickly, little bit of lace.
S: a little bit of bread/malts, not much going on
T: Nice malt presence, with a definite bitterness/hoppiness in the back of the mouth. Very crisp on the tongue.
M: Nicely carbonated, seems to coat the tongue/mouth a bit (not in a bad way).
D: Nice beer, well balanced. I am not that familiar with the style (or lagers in general). I like this but, I am not sure I will pick up again. If you can get a single, this is worth trying.

In the end, I like beers more hoppy or more malty, this seems to be stuck in the middle.

Shimmering orange in color, with some deep golden colors revealed in the direct light. Thin, yet creamy white head. Yeast, floral hops and hints of lemon peel are all reserved, but nicely noticeable. Zesty and powdery malts, touches of honey and dark fruits across the palate. Grassy hops are later revealed and carbonation is near perfect. Munich/bready malts are present as well; overall nicely flavored and very easy to drink. Well above average, at the top of my maibock list! Another winner, and perhaps there best offering, from the Dog! Bottoms up.

Maybe I'm spoiled, having grown up in Wisconsin and having lived in Germany . . . but this Bock just ain't very good. The mouthfeel is dead on, thick and rich and wonderful but the rest of the beer just falls short.
I think it is the overabundance of wheat coupled with an unbalanced yeast. The wheat clouds a lot of other flavours that should shine, while the fruity yeast should for for the style but it clashes with the wheat flavours and their hopping strategy. Couple that with a very soapy aftertaste and you've got a very sub-par beer from a pretty good brewery.

Stick to making ales, flying dog. You do a mighty fine job in that department.

Pours out a honey colored body with a thinnish head and some solid sheets of lace left on the glass. Big, worty, Grape-Nut-like smell with a lot of over-ripe/rotten fruit all comes out in the nose. Flavor is sickly sweet. Very bready (good) but with abundant rotten fruit (bad). Lots of honey. There's a forceful bitterness that comes in midway and really sort of ruins the mood. Mouthfeel is rather thick and the carbonation manages to be intrusive. I'm not into this.